TXT Record Lookup Online – Check SPF & Verification Records

How to use the TXT Record Lookup

Enter the domain whose TXT records you want to read, such as example.com.

Start the lookup. Our server queries the TXT records for that exact name.

Find the entry you need: SPF starts with v=spf1, verification tokens usually name the service.

Copy the values to compare them with what your provider asked you to publish.

TXT record lookup for SPF and verification

TXT records hold free-form text in DNS, and over the years they became the standard place for email authentication policies and ownership proofs. A TXT record lookup shows every string published at a name, so you can check that an SPF change went live or that a verification token is in place.

Example

TYPE  TTL     VALUE
TXT   300     "google-site-verification=abc123…"
TXT   300     "v=spf1 include:_spf.example.net ~all"

These values are illustrative. Each record is shown in quotes, one per line.

SPF: which servers may send your mail

An SPF record starts with v=spf1 and lists the servers allowed to send email for the domain, ending with a rule for everyone else: -all (fail), ~all (soft fail) or ?all (neutral). A few rules catch people out:

Publish only one SPF record per name. Two v=spf1 records cause a permanent error, so merge them.
Evaluating SPF may trigger at most 10 DNS lookups (each include, a, mx and similar term counts). Long chains of includes can exceed the limit and fail.
A domain that never sends mail can publish v=spf1 -all.

DKIM and DMARC live on other names

DKIM public keys are published under a selector, at selector._domainkey.example.com, and the DMARC policy sits at _dmarc.example.com and starts with v=DMARC1. Enter the full name here, for example _dmarc.example.com, to read these records; names that begin with an underscore are accepted. From a terminal, the same checks are:

dig TXT _dmarc.example.com +short
dig TXT selector1._domainkey.example.com +short
nslookup -type=TXT _dmarc.example.com

Replace selector1 with the selector your mail provider gave you; it also appears in the s= tag of a DKIM-Signature header.

Verification tokens

Search engines, email platforms and SaaS tools ask you to prove domain ownership by publishing a unique string, such as google-site-verification=…. Many services re-check the token later, so leave it in place unless the service says otherwise. Old tokens from tools you no longer use can be removed to keep the zone tidy.

Long values

A single string inside a TXT record can be at most 255 characters. Longer values, such as 2048-bit DKIM keys, are split into several quoted strings in one record, which the reading software joins back together.

For MX servers and all other record types, see MX Lookup and the full DNS lookup. The query runs on our server, and the tool does not store the domains you check.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check my SPF record?

Look up the TXT records of your domain and find the one starting with v=spf1. Make sure there is exactly one and that it includes every service that sends mail for you.

How do I look up a DMARC or DKIM record here?

Enter the full name, such as _dmarc.example.com or selector1._domainkey.example.com. Names that start with an underscore are accepted, and the lookup reads the TXT records at exactly the name you enter.

Can a domain have more than one TXT record?

Yes. A name can hold many TXT records, for example several verification tokens plus SPF. Only the SPF policy itself must be a single record.

My new TXT record does not show up yet. Why?

If the name was queried recently, resolvers may have cached the previous answer, including a "no record" answer, until its TTL expires. Check the authoritative nameserver directly with dig to confirm the record exists.

TXT Record Lookup